


Concealer

by LadyoftheShield



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Complete, F/M, I Tried, Oneshot, Romance, i think, is this how you romance?, volpina aftermath
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 13:25:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10219322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyoftheShield/pseuds/LadyoftheShield
Summary: After Volpina, Chat Noir realizes how Ladybug feels about him. Or, specifically, about Adrien Agreste.





	

Perhaps the first clue was when he and his Lady had stared at each other while he sat in his father’s limo. 

Ecstatic that for one shining moment he and no other was her whole world, Chat Noir hadn’t realized the implications of that look on her face. 

Then Simon Says had attacked his father’s mansion, and he chalked her stress up to the fear of being controlled by the Akuma. While Chat Noir himself had been manipulated by Akuma three times, so far his Lady had remained untouched by any Akuma’s influence. As it should be, no matter how much Plagg hated it when he took hits for her. Ladybug was the only one who could purify Akuma, and Chat Noir ran distraction at best. She was not expendable. Plagg could find another Chat Noir when the dust settled. But if the Akuma escaped, however long it took Ladybug’s kwami to find a new Chosen might be too late. And if Ladybug were controlled by an Akuma- if Hawk Moth got access to the power of the Lucky Charm or the Miraculous Cure- it would be even more catastrophic than if he got Chat Noir’s powers of destruction. Plagg had even admitted as much because of the power-gifting nature of the butterfly Miraculous. 

So he did not begrudge Ladybug's awkwardness, distracted as he was with keeping his true identity a secret from his father and from his Lady. Awkward shower scene aside, it was just like his Lady to check in on someone after a disaster. She was one of the kindest people he knew. Nor did her kindness stop her from being the strongest, either. 

But then Volpina happened. 

Of course, even if it wasn’t an illusion and “Adrien” fell, one of them would catch him. They’d done it many times for other innocents threatened with a long drop. Of course they wouldn’t just stand by and watch as the kid fell to his death. So when Ladybug agreed to hand over her earrings, Chat Noir thought he was hearing wrong. That it must be some sort of trick. But the sheer panic in his Lady’s voice indicated otherwise. Once again, in that moment, her entire world was Adrien Agreste. Nothing else mattered to her. This was his Lady as he had known her before she had really learned to use her powers, this was his Lady at her most insecure and uncertain.

He thrust the implications of that aside as he shattered the illusion of Adrien’s imminent demise. He was not going to let his Lady fall for that vixen’s lies. But she had already fallen for the biggest lie of all, a small voice that sounded suspiciously familiar whispered in his head as he watched her practically fly back to the Agreste home just to make sure Adrien was safe.

Chat Noir didn’t let himself think about that until she’d gone and Plagg flew from his ring. Adrien closed his right hand around the knuckles of his left, and felt the warm electrum of the Miraculous dig into his skin. 

“Well, there's a fortunate plot twist," Plagg said, hovering by Adrien's ear. "You should talk to her.”

“No, Plagg,” Adrien said, “I can’t do that.” He took a shaky breath. “If Ladybug loves- Adrien,” he said, “She won’t love Chat Noir. They’re completely different.”

A pause, then something warm nuzzled against his cheek, and the pain eased briefly. Of course Plagg understood. Adrien lifted his hand and curled it around the kwami as he crossed the room and sank onto his bed.

Even if Chat Noir told Ladybug his civilian identity and she loved him because of it, she wouldn’t love Chat Noir because he was Chat Noir, she would love Chat Noir because he was Adrien Agreste.

Adrien Agreste was kind, shy and submissive. Chat Noir, however, was only the first of those things. He had jumped at the chance to be the avatar of destruction entirely because of the freedom it afforded him. As Chat Noir, he could finally say what he liked, do whatever he wanted without having to worry about marring his father’s public image or answering to anyone. Chat Noir was everything Adrien Agreste wanted to be but could not as long as he lived under his father’s roof.

Chat Noir had long been resigned to the fact that Ladybug might never love him back. Things didn’t always go the way one wanted to, after all, and his Lady owed him nothing. She was his partner, his equal. Save for Nino, she was also the first person who really made him feel like an equal- who had really cared about him without asking for anything in return.

But for Ladybug to love spineless, bland, mousy Adrien Agreste-

In that moment, Chat Noir had never hated Adrien Agreste’s perfect smile more.


End file.
